It underlines that Pottery have made a record meant for a party that never stops. Bobby’s Motel is surely a place with more to it than meets the eye.

With Chapel Perilous, Gnod have managed once again to create something that is both liberating and, at times, terrifyingly oppressive. 


Admittedly, it isn’t a particularly easy listen, but love isn’t always easy, even if it is always worthwhile.

It's an ethereal end to an album that is both exhausting and exhilarating. Sisterworld is, in musical terms, an interesting place to visit, but you'd definitely not choose to live there.

The Solution Is Restless, by its title alone, does not have all the answers – but its musical debates are gripping. The spectacle of three creative identities finding common ground in a divisive world is both priceless and inspiring.

Love Your Dum And Mad is certainly not an easy listen and demands close attention. But give yourself over to the close, fascinating world Shah inhabits and you will be utterly enthralled.

Most of all though, Wanderer is an album about developing your own identity in an ever-changing, often troubling world. Arguably more than ever before, Cat Power has achieved that goal here.

Whilst retaining the heartfelt beauty of his debut album, it is the subjects tackled on Love And Other Planets and the experimentation with which this is done that really shows Adem is reaching for the stars.

Lonely At The Top is a complex and elusive album: indulging in the sensualities of aural texture whilst retaining a depth of communicative potency.

Songs From Isolation is a gorgeous collection that hits home in these bizarre times. Intense and distinctive, it’s the sound of someone finding solace in music – and that’s something we can all relate to right now.

Maximum Balloon is by no means a perfect album, but there are some fantastic performances to be found (Karen O, Ambrosia Parsley's sultry Pink Bricks). It's a shame that Sitek never steps up to the mic, but when you've got friends like these it doesn't really matter.

On one level I Love The New Sky is simply a collection of engaging songs but on another it’s a call for togetherness, an appeal to stay strong and embrace life. Whichever view you take it’s very much a record for these times.

Lewis has made a striking debut that delights in the most surprising of ways.

While there’s nothing on Electric Lines to match the heart-stopping brilliance of Gabriel or even be as sheer fun as much of The 2 Bears record was, it will satisfyingly sate anyone who feels they’ve been waiting too long for a new Hot Chip album.

It is at once assured and endearingly self deprecating. It has an open hearted appeal that just might make Withered Hand a household name.

Whenever Carpenter sings, the music seems to adopt different qualities--more reflective and melancholy perhaps – but not in an introverted way. Her tone is also brighter and more outward reaching. It is this further meeting of worlds--unforced and compelling--that makes Motorcade Amnesiacs such a successful work.

Blue Hearts finds him upping the ante yet again.

As the last dance at The Afterparty it’s a pretty effective one. If this is to be Lykke Li’s final album, she’s going out on her own terms – a masterful, if rather short, distillation of late night sadness.

The band are renowned for (occasionally controversial) storytelling, with lyrics artfully crafted, stretching their old English vocabulary like the most wordy of literature students; this is still evident but it’s generally less adventurous.

Their debut album is a riotous cacophony of perfectly sculpted indie boisterousness.

It is just one of the many avenues Bowie could have gone down, but the effect of what he has done is fascinating and wholly satisfying.

Big | Brave’s music doesn’t feel in the slightest contrived. This is rock music, for want of a less reductive term, at its exhilarating and imaginative best. In Vital they have created something you can’t quite grasp or capture, yet the invitation to attempt it is all too persuasive.

Chants For Socialists is full of beautifully written and well-crafted tunes.

Chaotic, energised and thrilling, this is Demi Lovato at her very best.

It's tuneful, well-written and beautifully played, and throughout there's no getting away from a Coldplay-esque earnestness.

This is a remarkable album in every sense.

The powerful Santiago Sunrise closes the album, confirming Even In Exile to be an undoubtedly impressive outing, both in terms of being an engaging, impactful set of songs but also as an educational exercise in shining further light on an important musician and cultural figure.

Delphic have started 2010 as we all hope it will go on - with superb music.